The Mere-measurement Effect of Patient-reported Outcomes

The use of patient-reported outcome (PROs) have become increasingly commonplace across many healthcare settings over the past two decades. The value of PROs is now acknowledged by healthcare providers and patients alike. However, to date, little is known about the best practices for formulating PRO measures (PROMS), but even more specifically, the effect had on the responding patients as a result of item word choice, emotional valence, or frequency of use. That is, 1) does the positive or negative wording of items affect the patient's perspective on the latent variable, 2) is there a degree of subliminal influence or measurement effects on their behaviour resulting from exposure to PROs, and finally, 3) is such an effect amplified with repeated exposure?

Inclusion Criteria: All patients will be required to have a qualifying disorder known to effect speech as identified below. Patients who meet the eligibility criteria will be invited to participate in the study by the researchers. Eligibility will be assessed prior to enrolment recruitment screening. AKH patients are not targeted for this study. All patients, regardless of geographic location around the world, can be recruited. The study is entirely online. Subjects must meet the following inclusion criteria for study entry: * Strong English skills\* * Technology savvy - able to complete online questionnaire * Suffering from one of the following: * Muscle tension dysphonia * Inducible laryngeal obstruction * Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) * Patients after a stroke or other brain injury/damage/trauma, (aphasia, dysarthria) * Parkinson's disease Exclusion Criteria: * Under the age of 18